Review: Hugo (2011)
Posted On 23 Nov 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2011, 4 Stars (Phenomenal), Action, Action-Adventure, By Genre, Drama, Family/Kids, Fantasy, Reviews.
Mobster's Rating: With the fantastic ‘Hugo’, based off Brian Selznick’s Caldecott winning children’s novel, Martin Scorsese returns to a measure of his former glory. It’s always interesting to watch a filmmaker testing new waters, and in Hugo, a PG-rated big-budget family picture, the great director attempts a genre and format he’s ... Read More
1 Comments
Review: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1 (2011)
Posted On 18 Nov 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2 Stars (Mediocre), 2011, Action, Fantasy, Reviews, Romance.
Breaking Dawn begins the much anticipated/dreaded final chapter of the Twilight Saga. Ed and Bella get married, knock boots, and start the natural first step for any teen/ancient creepy thing relationship: have a baby! There's more sulking, more wolves and 100% more umbilical chewing than the previous installments.
6 Comments
Throwback Tuesday: Mute Witness (1994)
Posted On 15 Nov 2011 By Bartleby. Under 1994, 3 Stars (Fantastic), Action, Crime, Foreign, Horror, Reviews, Suspense/Thriller, Throwback Tuesday.
Mobster's Rating: What is it that makes a film ‘scary’? I don’t mean simple jump thrills or a little bit of goose-pimples. What I’m talking about is that tight-chest, metallic taste in the mouth, primal fear that gets a hold of you and doesn’t let go. It’s the kind of anxiety ... Read More
2 Comments
Review: 11-11-11 (2011)
Posted On 12 Nov 2011 By Bartleby. Under .5 Stars (Pathetic), 2010, 2011, Action, Horror, Reviews, Suspense/Thriller.
Mobster's Rating: My apologies to last February’s ‘Shelter’, which I wrongly assumed would be the worst supernatural thriller to show up this year. Darren Lynn Bousman’s ’11-11-11’ makes that Julianne Moore movie about Satanic mountain witches look accomplished in comparison. Here’s a thriller featuring lost faith, phantasmal bogeyman, spooky calendar dates and ... Read More
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Review: Tower Heist (2011)
Posted On 04 Nov 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2.5 Stars (Noteworthy), 2011, Action, Comedy, Crime, Holiday Movies!, Reviews.
Mobster's Rating: Tower Heist may not be the smartest comedy on the city block, but it does deliver. Brett Ratner grabs three comedic has-beens (Stiller, Broderick and Murphy) and squeezes joyful, juicy performances out of them. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. When was the last time you looked ... Read More
4 Comments
The Dark Corner: Alias Nick Beal (1949)
Post WWII, a bunch of French critics saw American movies for the first time since the German occupation ended. They were shocked by how dark and cynical Hollywood had become during the war years. Gone were the optimism, bright lights and happy endings of the 1930’s, replaced by films about ... Read More
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Mobster TV Recap: ‘Grimm’ Pilot
NBC’s Grimm is the better of the two fairy-tale new fall shows. For now, anyway. Spookier and more accommodating of genre fans than Once Upon A Time, the clunky new offering from ABC, Grimm cashes in on its late October premiere date with a fun if unremarkable tale of heroes and ... Read More
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Review: Take Shelter (2011)
Posted On 28 Oct 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2011, 4 Stars (Phenomenal), Action, By Genre, Drama, Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction, Suspense/Thriller.
Mobsters Rating: Something wicked this way comes. Just ask Michael Shannon’s Curtis LaForche in Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter, an unnerving American pastorale about a family man plagued by the prospect of apocalyptic destruction. Curtis is an Ohio sandminer living a stable if sometimes financially stressful existence with beautiful wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) ... Read More
1 Comments
Blu-Ray Review: Attack the Block (2011)
Posted On 24 Oct 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2011, 3 Stars (Fantastic), Action, Action-Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction.
Mobster's Rating: Largely ignored in American theaters—despite raves from the online outlets and a half-hearted grassroots campaign—Joe Cornish’s cheeky Attack the Block hits Blu-ray/DVD just in time for Halloween. For fans of horror comedies and creature features, Cornish’s modestly scaled tale of London street thugs fighting shaggy brutes from space definitely ... Read More
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Review: Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Posted On 21 Oct 2011 By Bartleby. Under 2.5 Stars (Noteworthy), 2011, Action, By Genre, Horror, Reviews, Suspense/Thriller.
Mobster's Rating: Paranormal Activity manages a hat trick that most ongoing franchises can’t; just when it should be running out of steam, it course corrects and delivers an entry that is scarier, funnier and more distinctly cinematic than its predecessors. This isn’t art, but it is damn scary at times. I wasn’t won over ... Read More
7 Comments
Tuesday Throwback: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Posted On 18 Oct 2011 By Bartleby. Under 1973, 2.5 Stars (Noteworthy), 70's, Action, By Genre, By The Year, Fantasy, Horror, Reviews, Suspense/Thriller, Throwback Tuesday.
Mobster's Rating: Television movies were a far different beast in the 1970s than they are now. In fact, you don’t see the major networks wasting their time with them much anymore. But some 30 years ago, that was quite different. There were larger spaces to fill, not as many shows ... Read More
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